Never has a Throwback Thursday been more spine tingling and spooky. In the name of all that is scary, we’ve sifted through our book-induced nightmares and pulled out ones that have struck our nerves.
Before sparking the hit TV series Rizzoli & Isles, this throwback was striking nerves and robbing readers of breath. Boston medical examiner Dr. Maura Isles is shocked to discover that a murdered woman she is to examine looks exactly like her. For Maura, an only child, a DNA test confirms the startling fact: the mysterious doppelganger is in fact her twin sister. Now an already bizarre homicide investigation becomes a disturbing excursion into a past full of dark secrets and twisted truths. It is a journey that leads Maura to the mother she never knew – an icy and cunning woman who gave Maura life . . .and who just might have a plan to take it away. Body Double by Tess Gerritsen ISBN 9780345547712
Our TBT Thrillers list wouldn’t be complete without the master of political thrillers, and creator of every jury duty I’ve never wanted to be in, John Grisham. In 1970, one of Mississippi’s more colorful weekly newspapers, The Ford County Times, went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was assumed by a 23 year-old college dropout, named Willie Traynor. The future of the paper looked grim until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by Danny Padgitt, a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Though the murderer was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison, Danny Padgitt managed to get himself paroled nine short years later. He is returning to Ford County and the retribution begins. The Last Juror by John Grisham ISBN 9780385510431
There are few authors who can weave nail-biting thrills, edge-of-your-seat drama, and romantic suspense as masterfully as Julie Garwood. This throwback ratchets up the tension. Evil is on the hunt–and proves to be methodically organized and chillingly successful. When Chicago detective Alec Buchanan is given his last assignment before taking a prime FBI position, he must act as a glorified bodyguard to hotel heiress Regan Hamilton Madison. Someone has e-mailed her a graphic crime-scene photo–and the victim is no stranger. As danger intensifies and a serial killer circles ever closer, Regan must discover who has turned her private revenge fantasies into grisly reality. Murder List by Julie Garwood ISBN 9780345453839
This throwback thriller’s lead character was recently incarnated by Tom Cruise on the silver screen. Jack Reacher. Hero. Loner. Soldier. Soldier’s son. An elite military cop, he was one of the army’s brightest stars. But in every cop’s life there is one case that changes everything. For Jack Reacher, this is that case. New Year’s Day, 1990. In a North Carolina motel, a two-star general is found dead. His briefcase is missing, and nobody knows what was in it. Within minutes Reacher has his orders: Control the situation. Within hours the general’s wife is murdered. Then the dominoes really start to fall. Somewhere inside the vast worldwide fortress of the U.S. Army, Reacher is being set up as a fall guy with the worst enemies a man can have. But Reacher won’t quit; he’s fighting a new kind of war–against a conspiracy more chilling, ingenious, and treacherous than anyone could have guessed. The Enemy by Lee Child ISBN 9780440245995